The Ushi Oni
by knittingknots
Summary: Post Manga. InuYasha and Miroku head out to help a village deal with a powerful youkai that is plaguing them. Why is this time different than previous youkai exterminations and who is this boy who befriends him? Takes place Summer, 1568 in my timeline
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni**

_**Chapter One**_

InuYasha studied the gathering of old men watching him from across the room, and wished he were home. He knew if he were home, Kagome would be starting to cook dinner about now, and he would be out in the yard chopping wood while Noriko, one of Miroku's twins, played with his children, trying to keep Yukika out of her mother's garden and making sure that Atae brought in enough wood and filled the water jug. But today he was a long way from home, sitting in a guest house listening to the leaders of this village explain why he and Miroku had to rescue them.

There were five of them, the village's most important men, gray haired and well fed but weathered from years in the sun and work. InuYasha knew he ought to feel honored. They had put away their mud-stained work clothes and had dressed in their best for this occasion, fine linen with bold prints and even some silk. For them, the occasion was grave, even as they sat there and tried to look impressive, their scents filled with anxiety and worry. He flicked a triangular ear as he watched them whispering to each other, knowing that he was the cause of at least some of their discomfort. It irritated him a little, but it was nothing unexpected.

Idly wondering how they would have reacted if he had brought Kagome with him, he took a last swallow of tea and sat his empty teacup on the low table in front of him. His thoughts drifted away from the pleasantries that Miroku was handling. One wall of the building had the doors thrown open to catch the breeze, and he found himself staring past the gathered crowd to the view beyond. A bird called out from a tree nearby, and took flight. InuYasha felt a flash of envy as he watched it fly away. Given free choice, he wouldn't be sitting there, either.

But four days ago, one of the villagers, a man named Hideo, had shown up at Miroku's temple with a lurid tale of a horrid oni wreaking havoc, begging for help. Miroku, never one to turn down an opportunity, immediately agreed to help. InuYasha, unwilling to let his friend go off into danger alone, knew he didn't have much choice, and the next morning, he reluctantly kissed Kagome goodby, ruffed his son's hair, hugged his clinging daughter, and followed his friend and the villager down the road, promising Sango to keep the monk out of trouble.

When Miroku and InuYasha arrived, they had been met at the edge of town by a delegation of the village men. Hideo, their guide left them, anxious to check on his family. The two were quickly ushered into a guest house in the center of town, where they were served tea and dumplings to refresh them after their journey. A woman named Aka served them. She had been dressed up in a fine kosode of blue flowered silk for her job, and moved with grace, but she was young, not much older than Miroku's twins, and once she saw the hanyou, she became unnerved by her task. Her voice had trembled as she muttered her greetings and her hands had shaken as she brought in the refreshments, and neither Miroku's smile nor attempts to flatter her had been able to calm her. She fled out of the room soon as the job was done.

InuYasha sighed as she left. It had been a while since he had been anywhere but his village of Inumura or at Kaede's village or at the local markets, places where people knew him.

Miroku looked at his friend with sympathy. He knew the price his friend sometimes paid when they went on their journeys.

"I think you surprised her," the monk said. "Maybe she's not used to men who don't try to flirt with her."

"Feh," InuYasha replied. "More likely she's heard about your reputation."

"Or perhaps Sango's." Miroku poured InuYasha his cup of tea.

The hanyou snorted, and returned the favor.

"At least the tea is good," the monk said after he tasted his first cup.

"Keh," InuYasha replied, but had to admit that it was true.

They had not been there long before the village elders were ushered in. Outside of the room, and visible past the open doors, a group of curious onlookers had gathered.

The gathered elders looked at InuYasha warily. InuYasha was sure that they had heard tales of the monk and hanyou who were expert youkai exterminators, which is why the village had sent for them, but evidently, sitting so close to a youkai made them extra nervous. The scent of their anxiety was irritating. InuYasha, in a sour mood anyway, fought against the urge to crack his knuckles and flex his claws just to see their reaction. Instead, he stifled the growl that kept forming in his throat, refilled Miroku's empty teacup and waited.

Miroku picked up the teapot and refilled his friend's cup. "So tell me more about your problem."

Seemingly surprised by the hanyou's use of good manners, the headman watched as InuYasha brought the cup to his lips and then held it appropriately in the palm of his hand. He shook his head and took a deep breath, and met Miroku's eyes. "The oni appeared about two months ago, right before the wheat harvest," the headman said. His face was haggard. Whatever his nervousness about being near a hanyou was, it did not mask the strain he had been under. "He did some damage, but we were able to get most of the harvest in."

"But then," said the elder to his right, "Our livestock started disappearing. Two bullocks we needed for the plowing, and a horse and a calf. We began leaving food for the monster after that, hoping to get through the rice planting, and for a time things quieted down."

InuYasha sipped his tea, watching both the elders and Miroku as he assessed the men in front of them. He could almost see the wheels turn in his friend's head as he began calculating what they might do and, no doubt, what they could charge. This ability of Miroku's to assess the leading people of a community frightened the hanyou. Reading the connection between men's fears and their pocketbooks was a mystery he would never learn.

Miroku looked at the elders sympathetically, then sipped his tea.

"Then what?" the monk said.

"Then, Houshi-sama, after we had planted the rice, he began attacking the paddies. He drained two and trampled the rice in another. We gave him more food more often. But we are afraid. Last week we found another dead bullock, and two days later, a trampled child," said another of the elders.

"We cannot give him any larger quantities of food. Already we may not have enough for the winter. And our taxes . . . well, we won't burden you with that."

InuYasha's ear twitched. He saw the same calculating look in the headman's eyes as he saw in Miroku's, calculating the two of them. He stifled a snort, suspecting the headman had found his match in the monk.

The headman made a gesture with his fan. "This is why we sent for you. Can you help us?"

"Anybody get a look at whatever's doing this?" InuYasha asked. "Hideo told us a lot on the way over here, but he never got a look at it."

The elders looked surprised for a moment that he actually said something. The headman motioned, and a younger man who was standing in the doorway came over to them and bowed. He looked at the monk and the hanyou with determined, grieving eyes.

"I saw him," he said. "The oni . . . he killed my son."

"Ah." Miroku looked at the man with sympathy. "After we are through here, if you would like, I will come and chant sutra for him."

The villager nodded. "Thank you, Houshi-sama."

"So," Miroku continued, "Did you get a good look at him?"

"The monster . . . He had a bull's head, and a bull's feet, but a man's body and carried a huge club," the farmer continued. "A group of us was walking through the woods back to the fields. My son . . . my son had gotten ahead of us, and we didn't see the monster until the path curved. He turned when he saw us. Dai was in his path, and he just walked over him like he wasn't there." His voice cracked at the memory.

"His eyes . . . he looked at us with those red eyes and snorted. 'More food!' he yelled, then kicked my boy out of the way and disappeared up the path." The man buried his face in his hands. "Please help us. Help my Dai to rest, avenged."

InuYasha began to growl softly. "An ushi oni?" InuYasha said. "A bull youkai?"

"Yes," said the headman. "You are familiar?"

"Yeah. Damn hard to kill, but we can handle it," he replied, clasping the hilt of Tessaiga tightly.

Miroku took another sip of tea. "Now, gentlemen, before we take on this duty, let us discuss costs," he said. The headman gave him a thin smile.

"I need some air," InuYasha said, knowing his cue, and stood up. He never stayed around for the negotiations. Miroku preferred it that way.

As he left, he heard someone breathe a deep sigh of relief.

_To be continued...._

_A/N: The image of the Ushi-Oni I am drawing from is based on this: _The legend of still another famous _ushi-oni_ with an unusual shape is handed down at Negoro-ji Temple 根香寺 in Takamatsu City 高松市, Kagawa Prefecture. This monster, an ox-headed biped with huge fangs, spurred wrists and membranes like a flying squirrel, was slain near the temple about 400 years ago by an archery expert by the name of Yamada Kurando Takakiyo 山田蔵人高清. Yamada gave its horns to Negoro-ji, along with an image he painted himself, both of which are still among the temple's treasures


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni**

_**Chapter Two**_

The crowd of onlookers parted as InuYasha walked to the veranda. He left the guesthouse and headed for the shade of the tree he had glimpsed earlier. Finding a place that let him have a good view of the building, he settled down at the base of the tree and leaned against its trunk. Watching him watch them, the onlookers gathered there began to drift off, talking about work and home. The hanyou was a bit surprised that only a few of them gave him a pointed look, but all of them avoided coming close to the tree. It only took a few minutes until the area near the guesthouse was nearly empty. A few diehards stayed to listen to the negotiations. Beyond that, there was only a small boy playing not far from where the hanyou sat.

InuYasha smiled and watched him with interest. The boy was a little younger than his own son, maybe seven years old. His clothes showed how he had been playing in the dirt, and he had a smear of something on one cheek. But what really caught the hanyou's attention was how he was holding a small wooden carving of a horse and was acting out some story about a hero and his magic steed who defeated all his evil enemies. Somehow, InuYasha suspected Atae was doing something similar right now, and driving Kagome to distraction while he was doing it.

Suddenly, the boy seemed to realize he was not alone, and looked up, meeting InuYasha's eyes. He looked at him quizzically, taking in his silver hair and triangular ears and amber eyes. He got off his knees and squatted, stuffing his wooden horse into his shirt.

"You're really different. Are you a good guy or a villain?" the boy asked. "I've never seen anybody who looks like you before."

"Keh," InuYasha replied. "I guess that's because I am different. I think I'm a good guy. I'm here to help get rid of the bad youkai."

"Oh, I heard about that. My daddy told me about that youkai. He tore stuff up in one of our fields and knocked over the tree I liked to climb best." The boy sighed. "He's really strong." He scratched the tip of his nose, then wrinkled his eyebrows as if trying to come to a decision. "If you're here to fight that youkai, you must be a hero then." The boy stood up and walked nearer. "What's your name?"

"InuYasha," the hanyou replied.

"InuYasha." The boy smiled, mulling the name over. "I like it. It goes with your ears. My name's Yoshi. You must be really strong if you can fight the youkai."

"Yeah, maybe."InuYasha returned his smile. "Good to meet you, Yoshi. You remind me of my son. He likes to play like you do. His favorite story is about the Peach Boy."

"I like that story," Yoshi declared, sitting down in front of InuYasha. "You have a son?"

InuYasha nodded solemnly. "And a daughter, too."

"Where are they?" the boy asked. "Can I play with them? Do they have ears and hair like you?"

"Atae would like that," InuYasha said, "But they're back home with their mother."

"Oh." Yoshi looked disappointed. "Where's home?"

InuYasha pointed back towards Inumura. "About three days away that way."

"That's a long way away," Yoshi declared. "I've never been more than one day away from the village."

Suddenly, a woman shrieked. InuYasha looked up to see the woman hurry towards them. His smile faded at the look of panic in her face.

"Uh oh, I think I'm in trouble," Yoshi said, standing up. "Hi, Mama."

She was a pretty woman, but thin. The scarf she wore over her hair made her look even thinner, and heightened the anxiety she was trying to mask. "Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry my son was bothering you," she said. Her voice was soft, but he could hear the emotion concealed in it even as she bowed politely. She then turned, grabbing Yoshi's arm, and began towing the boy behind her.

"He wasn't – " InuYasha began, but let his voice fade away as she moved away. The woman began to berate her son as they walked down the path away from the village center, tugging him by one hand as they hurried away from the tree. He couldn't help hearing her voice as she dragged the boy along.

"What have I told you about wandering off?" she hissed in an angry whisper.

"But I just wanted to see – " Yoshi began, louder.

"And then I find you talking to a youkai! We don't go around talking to youkai! It's dangerous! Look what happened to Dai!" she said in an angry whisper.

"But he's here to fight the bad monster!" Yoshi protested. "He's a hero!"

"He's a youkai. That means he's dangerous! You saw what that youkai did to our field! Wait until I tell your father!"

The hanyou sighed as they disappeared behind a building, and leaned his head against the trunk of the tree. His ear twitched as he heard soft footsteps move towards him.

"You must forgive Chiyo, InuYasha-sama. Ever since we had the army come through the village last year, she's been frightened of her own shadow," said a voice on his right. "She spent a week with the other young women holed up in a cave, and when she came out, her younger brother and father were gone. First the soldiers, and now this. No wonder some of the people are wondering if our village has been cursed."

InuYasha looked up at the young man standing there, leaning his shoulder against the tree trunk. It was the same young man who had come to them with the story of the village's need for youkai exterminators. In the three days they had traveled together, the hanyou found himself warming to him and his calm and gentle sense of humor. Thin and wiry, his face had already gotten that weathered look from long days in the sunshine and hard times, but there was a peace in his eyes that InuYasha envied.

"Keh," InuYasha said, standing up. "So, Hideo, how's your family? Everybody all right?"

"They're doing fine. My Tatsume is still expecting, my mother still thinks she rules the roost, and my daughter gave me flowers. My oldest son has lost his first tooth. He saved it to show me." He grinned. "They fed me and bathed me and made me promise not to leave the village again, at least not to the next market day." Looking around the green and seeing so few people about, he asked, "Where is Houshi-sama?"

InuYasha nodded in the direction of the guesthouse. "He's in there, talking with the elders."

"Ah," said the young man. "No doubt Takeshi-sama will be giving him some hard bargaining. It is said he pinches every grain of rice three times before he lets it get away from him."

InuYasha laughed. "Miroku has his own reputation for separating people from their rice. It'll be interesting to see how it all turns out."

"Indeed," said the young man. "I'm surprised so few people are watching. Usually the village loves to watch Takeshi-sama. You should see him in action when it's time to sell the rice for tax money."

InuYasha stuck his hands in his sleeves. "Might be my fault. I think some of the people watching thought I was going to eat them for dinner when I came out here to sit under the tree."

"I'm sorry," said the young man. "The village is a bit jumpy right now."

"Not your fault," InuYasha said. "Most villages are jumpy when they're having youkai problems. I don't make them feel any easier. That's the way it's always been." He shrugged.

"Still," said Hideo. "Maybe you and Houshi-sama should come and – "

His words were interrupted suddenly by a loud bellow echoed over the hills, followed by another, and another, and another. It was the type of sound that made men shiver. The two men froze in place listening.

"The youkai?" InuYasha asked.

"Yes, that was the oni," said Hideo. "His voice travels a long, long way. He must be getting hungry again. If they don't feed him again by tomorrow, who knows what damage he'll do?"

"He's got a big mouth," InuYasha noted.

People began coming in from the fields when they heard the youkai, and others left their houses. As they passed the two men sitting by the tree, InuYasha asked, "So what happens next?"

"Oh, they'll spend the next three hours arguing about who needs to donate what to feed the monster next," Hideo replied, sitting down next to the hanyou. He pointed at a knot of men gathering on the path near the guest house. "Watch – they're all going to be heading for the headman's house, and drink up his sake while they argue about it." As he spoke, the village elders left the guest house, following the headman. The men gathered already followed him, discussing what they had already donated. Other men left their houses to join up with him. "In the end, he'll donate less than the rest, but they'll all feel it's fair because he let them get drunk sitting in his garden."

"How come you're not joining them?" InuYasha asked.

Hideo laughed. "I don't like to get drunk. I'll have to donate whatever they put me down for anyway. This way, I save Takeshi-sama the cost of his sake, and I'll feel better in the morning." He scratched his chin. "I think Takeshi-sama appreciates it. My share has always been a little less than I expected."

"Wise man," InuYasha replied.

InuYasha stood up. "I better see what Miroku's doing."

Hideo joined him as they walked towards the guest house. "Why don't we get that monk of yours and go to my house for dinner? Tatsume is a much better cook than Aka is."

"You have your own ways of wanting to live dangerously, I see," InuYasha said, stepping out on the verandah. "You haven't seen how much our friend can eat when the food is good."

"Maybe so," Hideo said. "But think of the good karma I'm earning."

InuYasha laughed.

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni**

_**Chapter Three**_

Laughter echoed in the small but pleasant farmhouse.

"So, Tatsume-sama, you must have been a cook in a daimyo's castle, to learn to cook dumplings this good," Miroku said to the blushing woman who sat in her corner near the fire pit.

InuYasha focused on his soup bowl to keep from rolling his eyes.

Tatsume, a pretty woman even in her workaday blue kosode, giggled behind her hand. "I don't think so, Houshi-sama. Surely a daimyo would find my poor cooking rather plain." She was in the sixth month of pregnancy, and glowed with contentment watching the monk and the hanyou eat their dinner.

"Nonsense," he said, picking one up and popping it into his mouth.

Hideo put down his rice bowl and grinned. "Say some extra prayers for me and my family, Houshi-sama. I have rescued you from one of the least experienced cooks in the village." He grabbed his youngest daughter as she began to crawl towards the hanyou. "Oh no you don't, Nene. Just because you like his ears doesn't mean you can pester our guest." He picked her up and sat her on his lap, and fed her a bite of fish off of his tray as she started to pout.

"You shouldn't talk so about Aka. It's not her fault her mother passed on before she could learn all she needed," Hideo's mother said as she refilled her son's soup bowl.

"True, true," Hideo agreed, smiling wryly. "But still, I am glad to show off Tatsume's talents to two worthy visitors. It's not often I get the chance to do it. And these men are here to help us. They deserve the best we can offer."

InuYasha ate quietly, watching the family who had invited them in, squelching a pang of homesickness. It surprised him how Tatsume and Hideo's mother Hajime took in his appearance with barely a blink of an eye. The farmer's three children looked at him with interest, but no fear. It was different from what he had come to expect on their exorcism trips. Idly, he wondered what would happen if he came back to visit with Kagome and his children in tow.

"I hope you're learning all your mother's secrets, Saru-chan," Miroku said, still playing the flirt as he sipped his soup, smiling at Hideo's daughter of eight.

She smiled and hid behind her mother's shoulder. Her laughter was sweet and high. But her brother Katsuo sat next to his father, and watched the two visitors with solemn, large eyes, too shy to do more than look. His eyes kept drifting to InuYasha's sword, which the hanyou had politely laid on the ground next to him.

"So," Hideo asked. "Do you have any idea of how you are going to deal with our oni problem?"

InuYasha looked up at his host. "We'll need some time to scout out where he goes when he's not in the village's fields." He took another bite of his soup. "I've fought this type of youkai before. Need to find him in the open. I sure don't want to have to go into his den to pull him out."

"We know where his den is," Hideo commented, reaching for a pickle on his tray. "There's a cave up on the mountainside north of the village. We used to use it in emergencies before he showed up. That's where the women hid when the soldiers came through last year." He popped the pickle in his mouth. "We're just lucky we haven't had that sort of emergency since he showed up."

"Some luck," InuYasha said, snorting.

Hideo sighed. "We count what blessings we can." He passed the toddler in his lap back to his wife. "I don't know who's eaten more, the oni or the army."

"The army," Hajime said, holding her ladle like a scepter. "But not for much longer at the rate the monster's been eating us out of house and home."

"It seems to me," Miroku said, finishing off yet another dumpling, "We need to take care of the monster far enough away from the village that people aren't hurt by accident."

"True," InuYasha agreed. "This is not the fight where you want spectators. It's not some little rat youkai or badger. Ushi oni are dumb and stupid and don't make way for crowds. They have venom and their youki can suck the life force out of people if they want to."

The room fell silent, except for Nene gurgling.

"I have an idea," Hideo said. "The – "

Suddenly the door slid open and the head and shoulders of a small visitor popped through the opening. "Is Katsuo done? Can we play?" The boy walked into the house, and his eyes grew large as he saw the visitors sitting around the fire. "InuYasha-sama! I didn't know you'd be here!"

All heads turned to the doorway.

"Yoshi, does your mother know you're over here?" Tatsume asked, frowning.

"Hmm. It smells good here, Auntie. Did you make dumplings?" the boy asked, moving towards the fire pit. He sat down next to Hideo's wife, and looked up at her with big wistful eyes.

She handed him a dumpling, which he stuffed into his mouth. "Well does she?"

"Uhmmm," he said as he chewed, "Maybe."

Miroku chuckled. "And you met this fine young man where?" he asked InuYasha.

"While you were talking to the village elders. But his mother wasn't very happy about it," InuYasha said, finishing off his pickle. He chewed it thoughtfully but decided that Tatsume's pickles were quite as good as Kagome's. Still, they would do. "But I didn't realize he was your nephew." He looked at his host.

"Sorry, friend. Yes, I am related to this willful boy. And you're right, my sister-in-law wasn't very pleased." Hideo looked sternly at the boy. "My nephew likes to wander off without permission. Remember what your mother did to you last time you came over without asking?"

Yoshi rubbed his backside, even as he stuffed another dumpling into his mouth and nodded. "Papa made sure I would remember."

"Did you ask before you came over?" Hideo asked.

The boy swallowed, and looked down. "No . . . no, Uncle."

"Katsuo, do you want to go play with this boy who won't even ask his mother if he can leave?" Hideo asked his son.

"Yeah!" said the younger boy.

"You two, go back over to Yoshi's house. I'll come get you, Katsuo, at sunset," Hideo said. "But if your aunt tells you to come home before then, come home. You hear me? And stay away from the river!"

Katsuo nodded. In a flash, the two boys were by the door. Yoshi looked back into the room. "Bye, InuYasha-sama. I don't care what my mother says. I know you're a hero!" he said, then dashed out.

"My, my," Miroku commented. "You must have made an impression, my friend."

"Keh," InuYasha replied, then popped a dumpling in his mouth.

Hideo laughed. "As I was saying, I have this idea . . . "

_To be continued...._


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni **

_**Chapter Four**_

InuYasha and Miroku woke up at dawn in the guest house to the raucous crowing of a rooster. With a hesitant knock, a sleepy-eyed but still nervous Aka slid the door open to bring them food not long after. Putting down the trays, she bowed, then bolted without speaking. Breakfast was tepid rice and bad miso soup with no pickles. But the tea she provided was once again excellent.

"How can she be such a bad cook and make such good tea?" Miroku wondered.

InuYasha shrugged. "The tea kami, I guess." He took a bite of his rice, and made a face, but swallowed it down. "I still would still feel better if we could spend some time checking out where the youkai has been going." The hanyou drank the last of his soup then looked at his tray. "She should have least sliced up some daikon if she didn't have any pickles."

"But even you liked the idea last night," Miroku replied, warming his hand on his teacup.

"Yeah, it sounded good, but I still wish I knew what I was getting into first," InuYasha declared.

"You never used to be so cautious, my friend." Miroku finished the last of his rice and stared at the bowl. "Hopefully when we get back, they'll feed us something better than this."

"Keh," InuYasha said. "I used to be a lot of things once upon a time, like lonely and single. Besides," he said, picking up his teacup, "That was before I was in charge of getting your butt home in one piece. This isn't some little rat youkai harassing a farmer's storeroom. We haven't fought something this nasty in a while. Anything happen to you, Sango'd come after me and when she was done, Kagome'd purify me into next month. More than that, who else would I get to teach Atae?" He swallowed his tea down.

Miroku laughed. "Ah, the joys of self-preservation. But really, we might not get such a good chance again. It will give us the element of surprise."

"Keh," InuYasha said, scowling, but still knowing Miroku spoke the truth. "That might be worth something. Let's just get there. Then we'll decide."

"That's fair," Miroku said. He put down his chopsticks and stood up. "Well, shall we be on our way?" He grabbed his staff from where it was leaning up against the wall.

With a nod, InuYasha unfolded his red-clad legs and stood up. They left their trays for the hapless Aka to deal with and headed out of the door into the village.

As they walked out, they noticed a few people doing chores, but the village was mostly quiet.

Breaking the morning's peace, a small child ran by, chasing a squawking chicken. She almost bumped into Miroku.

"Sorry, sorry, Houshi-sama" she said, looking up at the monk.

The monk smiled down at her. "Be careful, little one," he replied.

With a quick nod, she left, and they watched her hurry off, running even faster as she chased her bird. An old woman, carrying a basket of vegetables back from her garden nodded at them. But they saw no one working in the fields near the village.

"Not many people out yet," InuYasha noted.

"I suspect they might be busy with the oni's demands," Miroku noted.

And as they walked the main road past the paddy fields, bright green with the young rice in the morning light, they were joined by a few villagers going in the same direction, carrying bundles and baskets, proving him right. Several of the villagers gave the two a wide berth, hurrying up or dropping behind, and one made a sign against bad luck when InuYasha got too close, but a couple of villagers greeted them. Before they had gotten very far, a familiar voice called for them to slow down, and Hideo balancing a basket on one shoulder, caught up with them.

"So, off to climb the mountain?" he asked.

InuYasha nodded. "We'll at least get a good look. We'll decide what to do once we see it."

"Good, good. I hope the mountain kami brings you luck," Hideo said smiling as he shifted the basket off of one shoulder and onto the next.

"Thank you, friend. Good wishes are worth a lot," Miroku replied. "What are you carrying there?"

"Millet and chrysanthemum greens," Hideo replied. "My share of the offering. I'd have already been there if I hadn't stopped to cut the greens before going out."

InuYasha looked at the people walking ahead with their bundles – a few women walking with their husbands and children, but mostly tired-looking men. To his sensitive nose, many of the men still smelled of last night's sake. Their bundles and baskets and jars smelled of rice and miso, pickles and fish.

"This better be the last time," one of the young men ahead of them grumbled, shifting his burden as he turned back to look at the hanyou and monk. "I hear the Takada are asking for people to come work on their lands."

"Hey Jiro," Hideo said. "You'd go and work for them after what they did to your sister?"

Jiro spit. "Better than feeding damn youkai." He hurried down the road, bumping others as he went.

"Fool," Hideo said and sighed.

They walked in silence for a moment.

"What's the oni doing with all this food? He can't eat it all at once," the hanyou asked, breaking the tension.

"True, true," Hideo said. "We take it to the base of the hill. He eats some, takes some home up the mountain, leaves the rest, and comes back down for more until he's eaten it all. Nobody would dare touch it; everybody's too afraid that the oni will come after them if they did. I don't know about the foxes and the birds. Maybe they're braver than we farmers."

A man behind them snorted. "Or slyer."

Hideo laughed, then pulled InuYasha and Miroku to the side of the road, and waited until the clump of villagers passed. When no one was there to overhear them, he shifted his basket again, and pointed at the mountain.

"There's a path from the place we leave the food that runs up to the cave I told you about. It's an easy way up, but long and round about. That's the path we know the oni takes most of the time. But if you stay on this path, it'll take you around the base of the mountain where it comes to another trail that heads up the mountainside. That's the path I told you about last night. It's steeper, and we don't think he's been using it much. It leads up to the cave, too, a harder walk, but you can get up the mountain faster that way, I think, without worrying about the oni seeing you."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "We don't want to run into him until we're ready."

"Make sure the village elders keep the people off the mountain," Miroku said. "Even the woodcutters. We don't want anybody accidentally hurt."

"With the monster on the prowl?" Hideo said. "I don't think that's going to be much of a problem. We're only farmers, not heroes."

Miroku snorted as they moved back onto the path. "Heroes, eh."

"Or crazy. Never have decided which," InuYasha replied.

_To be continued...._


	5. Chapter 5

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni**

_**Chapter Five**_

Ahead of them, to the left of the road, a space had been marked out in straw ropes with streamers that fluttered in the wind, warning the unwary to stay away. A slab of rock was contained in the enclosure and a line of people had formed to drop off their bundles.

"What's Takeshi doing there? He your priest, too?" InuYasha asked.

The headman stood behind the slab. Dressed in flowing white robes and a towering hat, he spoke something to each villager that came up, and blessed each bundle with a wand decorated with folded paper streams. When he was done, a girl dressed in the red and white of a miko standing on his right, handed the villager a branch of holy sakaki branches. Most dropped their loads, received their blessing, and hurried back to the safer confines of the village, hoping they had bought themselves more time. A few gathered talking. A group of children played under a tree.

"Sometimes. Each of the village elders is priest sometimes," Hideo said as they neared. "We're too small and unimportant to have a full-time priest here. Still, the kami seem happy. Takeshi seems to think if we treat all of this like a gift to the kami of the mountain, then we will get a blessing out of it. He told me that finding you two so close to here was a sign of how the kami was pleased." The farmer shrugged. "Maybe."

"Huh," said the hanyou.

"Stranger things have happened to us," Miroku stated, giving InuYasha a sharp look.

They reached the place in the road where Hideo needed to leave them.

"Take care, my friends," Hideo said, joining the offering line. "I'll ask the kami to watch over you."

A few heads turned their way, looking at them curiously. Takashi caught InuYasha's eyes. The hanyou stood there, and nodded his head. Miroku bowed more politely and made a sign of benediction.

"We're off to find the oni," InuYasha announced, gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Good hunting," the headman said.

Heads turned as villagers watched the monk and hanyou standing there. Not all felt as charitable as the headman. InuYasha chose not to comment on the few dark wishes he heard mumbled. They turned and left.

The road left the paddy lands behind as it rose up and moved into higher ground where the villagers farmed things besides rice like fruit and hemp and had their pasture lands for the few horses. The pastures were empty, and they saw no one working in the fields. It was easy to understand why. The further they got from the village, the more signs they saw of the youkai's behavior – broken fruit trees and smashed fences. They passed one field, planted earlier in the year with millet, now mixed with weeds and neglected. The fence had been broken in several places, and heavy rocks tossed in it, gouging the soil, recently too, from the lack of growth in the disturbed soil.

"Strong bastard," InuYasha said, looking at the ruined field and the size of the stones.

"Not a neighbor you'd like living near," Miroku commented.

"Keh," the hanyou replied.

A crow, spotting them, cawed and flew off. InuYasha, seeing a brief bit of motion out of the corner of his eye, turned around, and looked behind him, wondering if something disturbed the bird, but didn't see anything out of place, just some tall waving grass lining the far side of the road, and beyond that, a stand of trees. After scanning the area for a moment, he shrugged and they continued on until they found the path they were looking for and headed up the mountain.

The path they were on was marked from time to time with broken trees and scattered bones. At one point they saw a crushed hut once used by woodcutters. Missing were birds and other signs of life. Even the animal droppings one normally ran across in a wooded hillside were old.

They came across a kill, old and weathered bits of hide and bones and shreds of meat, and paused a moment while InuYasha examined it.

"So this is the path the oni doesn't use much?" Miroku asked, squatting down for a moment to look at what the hanyou was studying. "I wonder what the other one looks like?"

"Feh, you don't want to know," InuYasha replied, wiping his hands on his thighs. "Funny how nothing's scavenged this. Not even a fox."

"Smart fox," Miroku said.

"I think he's hunted the area out," InuYasha said, stepping over a thighbone. "I haven't smelled a fresh deer or boar or rabbit scent since we left the farmland. Oni either ate them or they left."

"That would explain why the youkai's demanding so much from the village," Miroku noted.

"Yeah." InuYasha replied. Suddenly he looked up, his ears strained.

"Hear something?" Miroku stepped gingerly around the remains.

"I don't know," InuYasha said. "You sense anything?"

"I don't feel any youki," the monk replied, shrugging. "How about you? Want to backtrack?"

"No," the hanyou said, shaking his head. "Damn wind, blowing the wrong way. Probably just a squirrel or a branch falling or something. Let's hurry. I want to get up there before the oni. Just keep your eyes and ears open."

They continued up the hill until their progress was stopped by a felled tree that partially blocked the path. At one place, the bark had been scuffed off and the wood crushed, as if hit with a heavy load. This he could scent. "This oni sure stinks. In fact, this whole area stinks like him. Been here long enough to make the whole place smell just like home."

Miroku nodded as they headed up the path. "The way you talked to the village elders made me think you've had dealings with ushi oni before."

"Keh" InuYasha said. "It's been a while. The one I ran into was dumber than any other oni I ever came across, but very, very strong. He wasn't very clever in how he attacked. He charged straight ahead without thinking, or I might not have been so lucky. Not only did he have a bull's head, but spikes in its wrists. You got to watch those spikes. They contain a nasty venom. If it looks like he's going to try to hit you with a fist, run, cause he really means to hit you with them. The one I fought used them to freeze his prey. Given a choice, he preferred his meat still breathing."

Miroku shuddered. "Obviously not a good Buddhist monster."

InuYasha snorted, but refrained from the urge to tease Miroku about all the fish and sometimes meat he had seen the monk eat since they'd been together. "You could say that. And watch out for your shadow. I've heard some bull youkai can suck the very life out of you that way."

The road slanted up at an angle, moving higher the mountainside, and the forest grew thicker. Heavy brush, sometimes trampled, lined the path they were on. They concentrated walking over the obstacles and moved on in silence.

"I think – " he began to say, but somewhere, off in the distance, the youkai bellowed. They stopped and listened.

"Breakfast time must be over," Miroku noted.

"At least he's not close yet." InuYasha said after the noise quieted down. "You sure you want to try Hideo's plan?"

"If it works, we could be done today and on our way home tomorrow," the monk replied. "We'll know more when we get there."

"I'm still not sure if your idea of a good plan and mine are the same, Bouzo," InuYasha said.

A few minutes later, the road leveled out as they neared their destination, opening into a broad flat area in front of a towering rock wall.

"It looks pretty much like the Hideo said," Miroku said as he and his hanyou companion drew nearer to the rise.

Strewn with vines and half hidden by low-lying shrubs, the rock wall in front of them was broken by the gash of a cave mouth. An unpleasant pungent breeze wafted out of the dark recess. The ground in front of it had been heavily trampled, and the area was littered with broken pots and bamboo wrappers, scattered bones and some things better left undefined. To the left of the cave was a stand of tall pines waving in the wind, and between that and the cave a small field filled with grass and brush, some of it almost dense enough to hide in.

"Just barely enough room to fight in, and damn little good cover. Damn it, Miroku – how do you get us into these situations?" InuYasha growled as they examined the area.

"Skill, my friend, or perhaps just luck," Miroku replied with a sigh as he looked at the grounds surrounding the cave. His staff jingled as he stepped gingerly around the rubbish. The air was ripe with an earthy, almost barnyard smell, tinged with the smell of rotten food, decay and old blood.

"He's not much into cleanliness, is he?"

"Feh."The hanyou stepped over a pile of offal, wrinkling his nose. "Too dumb to know not to foul his own nest. This one's not any smarter than the one I ran into before. You saw all that damage on the way up. Dumb. Don't think he knows enough to go around a tree."

"All the things I've read indicate ushi oni are formidable and strong, but not necessarily very smart," Miroku answered. "But then, most oni aren't." He turned and looked back down the hill. "I don't feel his presence yet. We have a little time."

"We'll know when he gets here by the stink. As bad as it smells now, it'll only get worse." InuYasha tossed a rock in the cave and tilted his ear forward, listening for any sound. The only other sound was the wind in the pines. "Well, let's go for it. So what do we do first?"

"You know the plans we discussed. First, seal his den so we don't have to worry about digging him out of there later," Miroku said, pulling out some ofuda, which he attached to the opening of the cave. It began to glow with a blue aura. "Next, we find some place to wait." Another roar from the oni echoed on the mountainside. "From the sound of it, it won't be long. And then, you'll take him out with a kaze no kizu. And then we go back down to have another one of Tatsume-sama's dinners."

"Well, you better hope the oni likes your plan," InuYasha said.

They found hiding places in the brush, and settled down to wait. Miroku closed his eyes, as if meditating. InuYasha listened to the wind in the trees and the sound of the monster growing closer, clutching his hand around Tessaiga's hilt.

Suddenly, the bellow of the oni was right on top of them. The hanyou could feel the ground tremble with each step that the oni made as he entered the clearing.

It was time.

_To be continued....._


	6. Chapter 6

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni**

_**Chapter Six**_

The air grew foul as the ushi oni entered the clearing, a barnyard smell mixed with the sickly-sweet smell of rot. Miroku popped open his eyes, their violet steeled hard and ready. He parted the grasses he was crouched in, trying hard to keep the dry undergrowth from rustling, then his eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. "That, friend, is one ugly monster," he whispered, sitting back and gripping his staff.

"Keh," InuYasha replied.

InuYasha's right ear twitched as he watched the ushi oni stop, sensing something. The dead brush under the hanyou's feet crackled very slightly as he shifted his weight, waiting for the right moment. The oni stood half again as tall as the hanyou, nearly nine feet tall, broad shouldered and heavily muscled, although his sagging belly revealed how well fed he was of late. He walked heavily on two feet that ended in bull's hooves, and InuYasha idly wondered for a moment how he kept his balance, but although his step was heavy, his muscles moved with a powerful grace.

Red-skinned like a common oni, his face tapered into something that approached a bull's snout with huge black nostrils. He moved his head from side to side, sweeping across the clearing with small black eyes, his unkempt black hair falling around two long and pointed horns that turned forward, a formidable weapon if he wanted to ram with them.

Bovine ears flicked as he listened for sounds as he moved closer to the cave mouth. Unlike a true bull, the monster had long tusks jutting up out of his bottom jaw and protruding from its mouth, like a boar. Spikes of bone adorned both wrists. On one shoulder, he carried a huge club, and the other hand was wrapped around a large net carrying loot from the offering slab the villagers made.

Nearing the cave mouth, he let out another bellow that shook off the rock wall and made InuYasha lower his ears at the volume. Miroku crouched even lower and covered his ears. Small rocks rolled down the rock wall at the sound.

"Who dared put ofuda on my cave?" he yelled.

InuYasha was surprised how well he spoke, considering the shape of his head. The oni turned around, looking and sniffing, coming at last to face where they were hiding. He wore a ragged cloth tied around its waist as its only garment; once it might have been red, but it was impossible to tell any more. His skin was smeared with mud and splatters of dirt and grime, especially across his belly. Those were fresh, as if he crammed things into his mouth and let the dribble down his chin to land wherever.

"Been a while since he saw water," Miroku noted.

"If ever," InuYasha replied.

Sniffing the air, the oni dropped his net and readied his club, looking directly at where they crouched. "Come out, come out, wherever you are. I can smell you, you know. Come out so I can eat you."

He let out another bellow.

As the echo died down, InuYasha murmured, "Guess it's time to go to work." He shifted forward into a tight crouch, his long red sleeves brushing the ground as he drew his sword, which transformed silently into a great fang. "Stay here under cover. You'll know if I need help."

The monk nodded, and cupped the rings on his staff to keep them from jingling. Leaping up out of his hiding place, InuYasha landed in front of the monster in a flash of silver and red.

"You smelled me, heh, bastard? It's a wonder you can smell anything over your own stink," the hanyou said. Tessaiga shimmered with waves of energy that cascaded down it as he held it in both hands. "You reek."

"A hanyou," the ushi oni said. "A hanyou with a shiny toothpick." He snorted. "What did those mealy-mouthed villagers promise you to come up here and die?" The oni slammed his club down, rattling the ground as it struck. InuYasha, reading his move, nimbly jumped away. "It doesn't matter. You'll make a nice lunch. Then I'll clean my teeth with that sword." He slammed his club down again, and InuYasha leaped once more.

InuYasha crouched into a battle stance, his ears pinned back as an unnerving growl escaped his throat, his feet digging into the pebbly ground underneath him. "That's it. Thought I might offer you a chance to go somewhere else, but this hanyou going to take you down. You've caused enough damage around here." He raised the sword over his head, and began to bring it down.

There was a sudden rustle in the underbrush near the path to the clearing. "Die monster!" a child's shrill voice cried out. Both the oni and InuYasha swerved towards the unexpected noise. A small boy dashed out from behind a bush, and ran forward, stabbing the oni in the leg with a knife. "Time to die! You killed Dai, and now it's your turn!"

"Yoshi!" InuYasha screamed as he made a jump for the boy, but the oni reached down and picked the boy up. "One of yours? No, smells like one of the village brats."

"Let him go, bastard." InuYasha crouched down again, ready to leap. "Damn it, Yoshi, what in the hells are you doing here?"

Yoshi looked at the hanyou, his eyes wide and pleading, but was too frightened to say anything. The hanyou jumped up, bouncing off of the oni's chest. "Tessaiga!" he yelled and slashed at the arm that was holding the boy, cutting it deeply.

The oni cried out, and in one movement threw Yoshi into the brush while dislodging the sword and shaking off InuYasha, who rolled on the ground. Ignoring the blood spurting from his arm, he lowered his head. "I'll get the boy later. He'll make a fine tidbit. But first I get you, hanyou." The oni began to paw at the ground.

InuYasha picked himself up off and shook his head. "Damn," he said, reaching up to his left ear. "He nicked me." His ear began to burn with the venom. "This stops now." Raising his sword one more time, he yelled, "Kaze no Kizu!" and slammed the sword into the ground right after the oni began to run. The sound of the magic made an incredible rumbling noise as five fingers of bright light engulfed the monster and in a massive explosion, the oni was no more.

There was a rustle in the bushes behind him and Miroku, who had been crawling through the underbrush stood up with the small boy in his arms and walked over to his partner.

Yoshi, smeared with dirt and with grass stuck in his hair, battered but alert, looked up at the hanyou turning towards him with worshipful eyes."InuYasha!"

"You hurt?" InuYasha asked, sheathing his sword. He reached up and touched his ear. It throbbed.

"My elbow hurts," the boy said. "I bruised my knee."

InuYasha shook his head. "Damn it, boy. I knew someone was following us. I sure didn't expect it to be you," he said. "Your dad's really going to really make you remember this."

The boy sighed, and slipped out of Miroku's hold. "But I wanted to see a real hero. I wanted to be a hero."

"Feh. Don't ever do something that stupid again. You almost got killed." Off in the distance, InuYasha could hear voices calling. "Sounds like they're looking for you, boy."

"The monster didn't kill me, but my father will," Yoshi said, wiping his nose. "But I'll be a real hero and take it."

InuYasha just closed his eyes for a minute and shook his head. The boy's voice sounded very distant to the hanyou as he felt the oni's venom begin to work through his bloodstream. His mouth felt dry.

The monk laughed, until he took a good look at his friend. "Your ear's bleeding."

InuYasha's head was beginning to spin. "Yeah, I caught one of his spikes." He shrugged.

"Yoshi!" Hideo's voice carried up the mountainside.

"InuYasha?" Yoshi said. He didn't like the fact that his hero had suddenly gotten pale and sweaty.

The monk frowned. "What do we need to do?"

InuYasha collapsed to his knees, unable to stand up. "I don't know."

Suddenly, InuYasha's world grew black.

_To be continued...._


	7. Chapter 7

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**The Ushi Oni**

_**Chapter Seven**_

Slowly, sounds began to punch through his darkness, and his ear twitched. He began to notice some things as consciousness slipped back in. The feel of the futon beneath him and the cover above. The sliding of a door and the sound of children playing. A familiar jingling. A cool cloth wiping his forehead. The soft murmuring of a voice chanting. The smell of tea.

He flexed his arms and legs, clasped and unclasped his hands. He felt very stiff, as if he hadn't moved in a long time. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes.

The light was almost too bright at first and he blinked trying to make sense of what he saw, and slowly, the room grew into focus. With great effort, he managed to roll over.

Miroku, sitting by the fire pit, turned as he heard the sounds of InuYasha shifting. "Ah, you're back with us," he said, moving a kettle of water off the fire. He got up and went to the hanyou's bedside.

"Wha . . . " InuYasha started to say. His voice was harsh, barely above a whisper. He swallowed. "What happened?"

"Thirsty?" Miroku asked.

InuYasha nodded, and Miroku got up and poured water into a cup. Kneeling next to his friend, he helped him sit up enough to drink. Afterwards, he collapsed back on the bedding, his silver hair cascading over the bolster in an unkept mess.

"What happened?" he asked again. "Last thing I remember is talking to you and that boy, then everything went black."

"You passed out from the ushi oni's venom," Miroku said. "Think you could handle some soup? Hideo's wife made it."

InuYasha nodded, and this time he managed to sit all the way up, and crossed his legs in front of him, leaning forward. Miroku walked back to the fire pit, and pulled the lid off a small pot that was pulled to the side, close enough to stay warm without overheating. The air filled with the smell of the hot, fish-based broth. Grabbing a bowl, he ladled it out carefully, then recovered the pot.

"How long have I been out?" InuYasha asked.

"Almost three days," Miroku said, recovering the pot. He carried the food back to the hanyou and handed him the bowl and chopsticks. "I must admit you had us worried there for a while. I did not want to go back home and tell Kagome-sama that I failed in, how did you put it? Ah, yes, getting your butt back home."

He smiled at his friend, who looked up from his soup bowl, and gave him a wry smile. "No," the hanyou said. "She wouldn't like that very much." He took a swallow of the soup. "So what happened after I passed out?"

"Well, we found the search party that was looking for Yoshi, or should I say, they found us, following the flash from your Kaze no Kizu . Hideo and Yoshi's father Michio helped get you down the mountain. The cut on your ear started to fester almost immediately, and you had a fever for two days straight. You didn't move, you didn't make a sound and you barely breathed." Miroku went back and grabbed his teacup, took a sip, but drank it anyway. "But the local healer was evidently able to draw the venom out, because last night your fever broke and you started to move again in your sleep."

InuYasha put down his bowl, and touched his ear, then twitched it. "Still tender," he noted.

"It looks a hell of a lot better than it did yesterday," Miroku said. He poured a fresh cup of tea. "I'm glad it's healing. Kagome-sama would have been unhappy if you came home with a mangled ear." He grinned.

InuYasha scowled at him in return. "Where're my clothes?" InuYasha asked, throwing aside the cover. He was dressed only in his undershirt.

"On the shelf against the wall." Miroku pointed to the far wall behind InuYasha. "Tessaiga's with them. You think you're ready to get up?"

InuYasha, with effort, stood up, wobbling a moment, then took a deep breath and headed towards the shelf. Grabbing his hakama, he slid into them and fastened the ties. "Never get back on my feet if I stay off of'em," he said. He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on.

"Now that you're up," Miroku said, standing up, "I need to go talk to the headman. And I'd like to stop by the family who lost their son to the oni. I promised them I'd say some sutra for him. You'll be all right?"

"Yeah," InuYasha nodded, fastening his jacket closed.

"There's more soup in the pot." Miroku grabbed his staff then slid the shoji door open.

"Keh," InuYasha said. Grabbing his bowl, he moved towards the fire pit as Miroku closed the door.

Grabbing another bowl of soup, InuYasha took it and went out to sit on the verandah. Fighting against the lightheadedness he felt, he sat down carefully against a pillar, and ate his soup, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face, and the scent of the open air. He looked towards the tree he had sat under his first day here, and saw farmers working in the fields beyond. As he drank the last of his soup, he could hear a woman somewhere nearby, fussing about the sloppiness of her husband while she scrubbed her laundry. A group of children ran down the street playing chase, almost running into two men walking by who were discussing a bet they made. The men smiled at the hanyou as they passed by, bowing politely.

"InuYasha-sama!"

The hanyou turned and watched Hideo walk up to the guest house and sit down next to him. "I saw Miroku-sama a few minutes ago, and he told me you were out of bed. It surprised me. Even after hearing that your fever broke last night, I didn't expect to see you looking so well yet."

"I heal fast," InuYasha replied. "I've had a lot of experience at it over the years."

Hideo raised an eyebrow, as if wondering what the hanyou meant by that, then shrugged and scratched his chin. "That's sort of like our village. A few days ago, people were walking around fearful of everything. But now look at it. People are back into the fields, even the ones up near the mountain. Nobody's looking over their shoulder or wondering if they'll have enough to eat until the harvest comes in. Although," he said smiling, "I have heard a few grumble how Takeshi won't be giving away free sake anymore."

"How's your nephew?" InuYasha asked. "I know he got tossed pretty bad by the oni."

"Oh, he's got some bruising from that. And maybe another one or two when he got home, but he's all right. I don't this his parents have let him leave the house yet, though" Hideo sighed. "He's a good, curious kid, always getting into little scrapes, but his was the craziest thing he's done. His parents are mortified that you got hurt because of his disobedience."

InuYasha shrugged. "I'm glad he's doing all right. Kind of reminds me of my own son."

"Then," Hideo said, "You must have your hands full a lot."

"Yeah," the hanyou said. Suddenly, all of his satisfaction at a job well done evaporated as he thought about his family, and was struck by a strong pang of longing. It was time to go home.

Two days later, after another day for InuYasha to heal up, and a public feast and one more dinner at Hideo's home, Miroku and InuYasha were gathering their things, making ready for the trip back across the mountains.

"By the way," Miroku said, as he gave a tug onto the binding of his travel bag. He hefted it onto his back. "One of the families here asked me to take one of their sons as an acolyte."

"You? You sure you want to add another mouth to that motley crew you have at your place?" InuYasha said, drinking one last cup of Aka's excellent tea.

"Always room for one more," Miroku replied. "Besides, they might have just sent him off to be someone's servant anyway. He's the third son in his family. There's not much future for him in the village, and evidently he's become more than they want to handle. They were talking about sending him to a big landowner in the next village down the road when I convinced them otherwise." He tossed a pouch at InuYasha. "He wouldn't have much of a life there."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Well, just not let me be there when you tell Sango. I remember what happened when you took in your last acolyte."

Miroku rubbed the top of his head in memory. "Ah yes, I remember that day well. That, friend, is why I built a separate house for my students."

The hanyou looked inside the pouch, counted the coins. "You know you're one greedy monk," InuYasha said, shaking his head.

"Well, we have our expenses, you know. Not easy raising a family and doing the Buddha's work." Miroku grabbed his staff. "Anyway, it was a lot cheaper for them than feeding that oni forever."

InuYasha snorted as the shoji door opened wide.

"I'm ready, Miroku-sama," said a young voice. A small boy sat there at the entry, his head bowed.

"Yoshi?" InuYasha said, surprised.

"InuYasha-sama! I'm going with you! Miroku-sama's going to teach me to read and I'll get to see you all the time! Do you think I'll get to play with your son?"

The hanyou took a deep breath. It was going to be an interesting trip home.

—The End—


End file.
